You are here

Pro

SEATTLE — The previous time Clint Dempsey sauntered onto the Starfire Sports Complex outdoor practice fields the day before a game in which he could actually play, the Sounders were in first place in the Western Conference with few clear-cut challengers.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The Toronto Blue Jays, with a .500 record but only two games out of the second American League wild-card spot entering Thursday’s game, consider their future attractive. The Detroit Tigers, three games under .500 and 3 ½ games out of the same spot, consider their own ugly.

Tom Brady said he’s disappointed his four-game suspension wasn’t overturned by National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell. The reigning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player also said the dispute about his destroyed cell phone was manufactured by the league to overshadow its lack of proof of his involvement in the New England Patriots’ deflated-ball controversy.

TORONTO — The Phillies late Wednesday were nearing a deal to send ace pitcher Cole Hamels and reliever Jake Diekman along with cash to the Texas Rangers for five prospects and 29-year-old left-hander Matt Harrison, according to multiple reports.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denied New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s appeal of his four-game suspension for his alleged involvement in the Deflategate scandal, the league announced Tuesday.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame quietly made up an unnecessary new rule a few years ago involving its annual induction ceremony, and is now using that dumb “policy” to prevent the family of the late Junior Seau from speaking on his behalf.

DETROIT — Franklin Gutierrez isn’t the same guy from the 2009 season — his first with the Mariners. He’s admitted it often in his return from a one-year hiatus. Injuries, multiple trips to the disabled list and a diagnosed arthritic condition have robbed him of that graceful athleticism that tantalized fans.

ATLANTA — Expectations rise and fall with every international competition the U.S. men’s national soccer team enters. Qualifying for the World Cup is obligatory. Escaping the cup’s group stage has become almost binding. Friendly matches against elite foes need to be, at the very least, competitive if not triumphant.

Loudon , NH — Kyle Busch took another big step towards moving into the top-30 in the point standings and therefore earning a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship by winning Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway — his third victory in the last four races.

NEW YORK — He is no longer that kid in the Mariners uniform. The one oozing with talent that tantalized Seattle fans for seven season before exiting to the Texas Rangers and the largest contract in baseball history at the time.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Tiger Woods is starting to sound like a man who has been alone in the wild for too long. It’s unclear exactly whom he is talking to, himself or his mule, when he starts to ramble about a “baseline shift” and goes into obsessive details about how he regripped his putter because of the precise depth of the finger indentations. Maybe Woods can be a factor in the British Open at St. Andrews, but judging by his conversation, he more likely will be a factor strictly in his own mind.